U.S. Defense Department Eyes Venezuelan Oil in Brazen Act of Imperialism
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The Pentagon is reportedly seeking a stake in a Venezuelan oil company, raising serious concerns about U.S. imperial overreach and disregard for both U.S. and Venezuelan law.
The Wall Street Journal has revealed that officials from the U.S. Department of Defense are negotiating to seize a 35 percent interest in a Venezuelan company controlling 17 oil fields. This proposed arrangement would hand the Pentagon a long-term lease on Venezuela’s natural resources and the ability to buy oil at a predatory price, potentially as low as $30 per barrel. These negotiations are being brokered by Alejandro Betancourt López, a businessman with a history of legal troubles, who operates out of Spain.
Such a move flagrantly violates U.S. laws that prohibit the Defense Department from investing in foreign enterprises, and further tramples on the sovereignty of Venezuela, whose government the U.S. refuses to recognize. Venezuelan law also restricts foreign governments from acquiring stakes in domestic companies, making this deal a blatant affront to international norms. Betancourt López, described as controversial and with a checkered legal past in the UK and Switzerland, exemplifies the type of actors the U.S. is willing to engage with to secure resource control.
Analysts warn that this imperialist maneuver, if it proceeds, will likely be short-lived and face fierce legal and diplomatic resistance. Neither the Department of Defense nor the Venezuelan government has issued statements, but the silence speaks volumes about the questionable nature of these backroom dealings.